The storm has passed. It’s warm and sunny. The ice and snow are gone; the ground is still quite wet, but the birds are back at the feeders, and I can see bulbs coming up, perennials showing just a hint of green, full buds on the Camellia japonica, and the beaten down pansies and violas making a comeback. I think a deer or two have been here as well; something is eating the liriope.

Today I took a walk through the woods behind the back garden and found a few things of interest. At the edge of the woods daylily and Shasta daisy greenery is starting to show. Brightly colored moss looks lush on an old tree stump and along the flowing creek at my property line.

The buds on the hellebores are about to open, and I discovered one last bud on the ‘Debutante’ Camellia sasanqua; all the rest were lost to our recent weather.

Hellebore

Camellia ‘Debutante’

I have a garden trash heap out of sight at the back of the woods. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see a number of bulbs up and green there. I suspect they are bluebells that came out of the garden when I was replacing the soil when replanting an area. I don’t know if they will get enough sunlight, but I will keep an eye on them.

Don’t you love serendipity?

There are a number of large stones scattered along the creek bed, way too large for me to move. So I enjoy them for their beauty. This lichen encrusted grouping on the other side of the creek looks like it might well have been a single stone at some point.

How long ago and with what force could it have been split into four pieces?

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About johnvic8

John Viccellio retired after 24 years in the U. S. Navy and began to dig into gardening when he could finally land in one place. He completed the Master Gardener course in 1992 and has since designed and constructed two of his own gardens. He wrote a monthly garden column for ten years and was a regular contributor to Carolina Gardener magazine. John published his first book, Guess What's in My Garden!, in 2014.
He lives in Stallings, NC with his wife, in close proximity to six of his eight grandchildren.

11 Responses to A Walk in the Woods

Oh, I loved this walk with you through your woods. Interesting things all along the way. I thought of the game “I Spy” as you pointed out the surprises awaiting us. Beautiful photographs. Thanks for the walk.

Spent the weekend in Charlotte, NC and saw lots of blooming hellebores, even a few first hyacinths, and the very first white blossoms on some (outside) trees at the Botanical Gardens. Spring is definitely on its way.

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